Probably the most touching, inspirational, and well-known ads to come out of Detroit in recent years have been the “Imported From Detroit” ads that were run by Chrysler (whose headquarters are in Detroit) during the 2011 and 2012 Super Bowls.

The 2011 ad caught the attention of a nation.  I remember sitting at my parents’ house, watching the football game, when the commercial began.  After 10-15 seconds, it was clear that this was THE Detroit commercial everyone was talking about.  While others around the country may not have realized quite as quickly what the ad was about, those of us from Michigan were immediately silenced and pulled into our TVs.

There was the iconic voice of Clint Eastwood.  There were the memorable quotes like, “What does a town that has been to hell and back know about the finer things in life?” and “It’s the hottest fires that make the hardest steel.”

Chrysler – Imported from Detroit logo

There were real images of Alissa Czisny (a local Olympic hopeful), a real Detroit police offices, the Detroit Lions football team, and of course, rapper Eminem.  The ad was ultimately about the Chrysler 200, but was turned out to be so much more to those of us from the state.  Suddenly, “Imported from Detroit” was trending on Twitter and seemed to be everyone’s status on Facebook.  The ad gained wide acclaim for its poignant yet resilient tone.  We all felt proud to be from Michigan.

Chrysler revised the ad to run during the 2012 Super Bowl.  ”It’s halftime in America” focused not only on Detroit and its struggles, but the country as a whole.  When Eastwood  proclaims, “The world’s going to hear the roar of our engines,” pride was once again felt by all.

While the second ad was not as effective or as acclaimed as the first, it was still powerful. Since, Chrysler has announced it will not create another ad based on this concept, but I will be excited to see what other similar ads are created in the future.

Afterall, this is the Motor City, and this is what we do.